Blog2017-12-15T07:44:01-08:00

Suffering, yearning, envy, acceptance and gratitude. In a nutshell.

Those sound like the four horsemen of the apocalypse and their better angel, don’t they?   I live in an area where there are winter days that sometimes don’t get below 57-60 Fahrenheit. We have a pool, which we installed eighteen years ago so that I could dip my post-polio body into it regularly, walk (which is hard for me [...]

February 1st, 2022|

Memorable holidays

Because I was raised in a Christian home, we celebrated all the holidays originated by early or later Christians (some traditions actually co-opted from Pagans, such as the wonder of a bright decorated tree, and celebrating this near the Solstice). Christmas, following my December birthday, is still my favorite. Now that I’m less religious, and married to a wonderful yet [...]

December 14th, 2021|

A letter from Daddy – 1951

A few months out of the hospital, late 1951 A letter from Daddy My niece died recently, of ALS. Going through things she had saved, I found a scrapbook my mother (her maternal grandmother) had started in the mid-1920’s, with lovely cards given to her by her first husband, my sister’s father. My niece would have said, “My [...]

September 23rd, 2021|

What we leave behind

This past weekend, I spoke at the memorial service for my niece, who died a month ago and was one of my two closest blood relatives. It was good to have a few meals and time with some of the remaining members of my family and her friends, and I also spent several hours combing through various bits of my [...]

August 31st, 2021|

Mothers: the rose and the thorn

Recently I attended a Zoom meeting of one of my two women’s groups. The theme the facilitators chose was “Mothers—the Rose and the Thorn.”  Ah, such an apt metaphor, I thought. We each had the opportunity to express from our hearts how our mothers, most of whom had passed long ago, had both the rose and the thorn in their [...]

May 6th, 2021|

Drive my car

Here’s an excerpt from my forthcoming book, No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability. Some people may not know that the physical aspects of driving a car can be a challenge for a person with even partial paralysis. As a teenager and thereafter, I had to drive crossing my left leg in front [...]

April 15th, 2021|

Absence and the fond heart

Does absence make the heart grow fonder?   I know this is usually an adage applied to romantic relationships, but I’ve had this on my mind in a general sense lately.   I’ve been away from blogging for some time; I hope you’ve missed me, if you ever read me at all! I’ve been working on my second book, No [...]

February 9th, 2021|
Go to Top